Jo Ind reports on Bringing Hope, the charity that organised the conference at which Pat Regan spoke.

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Bringing Hope is a Christian organisation that works to transform and reform those suffering from negative, harmful and destructive lifestyles.

Its aim is to see churches working together and with other agencies to support those individuals and families ravaged by violence, gangs and drugs.

It has at its heart the Biblical text of Luke 4:18, where Jesus says: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. He has anointed me to tell the good news to the poor. He has sent me to announce release to the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to set oppressed people free."

In its work Bringing Hope uses three principles, again drawn from the Bible.

The first is peer-led mentoring. It believes the people who have come from the street are the best placed to help those who want to leave it.

One of its founder members is a man who was excluded from all Birmingham schools at the age of 13, was a drug abuser for 15 years and took part in gang-related crime before he became a Christian.

Another principle through which Bringing Hope works is in the development of communities.

For people to be able to change they need a strong community and moral framework around them, particularly if they have been involved in violence as they are often at risk.

For many gang members and ex-prisioners churches become the basis through which they can continue their journey of transformation.

Thirdly Bringing Hope sees the problems of street violence not in terms of individual perpetrators that need to be controlled but in terms of a community that needs to be healed.

Founded member Rev Robin Thompson says: "We believe it is our call and mandate to make a change in this nation responding to this cry of help for hope, which is being manifested through senseless acts of violence and death."